PRINCE OF PEACE

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.  

Isaiah 7:13-15

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Our Prince of Peace restructured the heart of humanity and therefore changed and lit the whole world. This sermon curates some of the highlights of His life in order to help you restore or retain the peace He offers you.

Though it could be reasonably argued that there are faults in elements of celebration of the Christmas season, if Jesus is the center of them all, the purpose of the day, then a blessed season it will be.

• PRINCE OF PEACE

“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, ...
Numbers 24:17

The birth of Jesus was prophesied of in the Old Testament. Jesus is the obvious star of the New Testament, but God intended from the beginning for a messiah to arrive, align and heal His children.

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

Indeed, Jesus has always been our story. We are loved thoroughly by God; He realized from before our first breath that we would require such qualities as Jesus would possess in order to spiritually survive and thrive. Let's think about those qualities listed in the ninth chapter of Isaiah more deeply:

Jesus is called Wonderful. The original word was "Pele" and means a miracle, a marvelous thing; wonder, marvel. Jesus is the miracle so many pray for and few actually see. He is the answer to every prayer, the strength for every weakness, the balm for every wound, the hope for every situation, the light of every life, the love for every heart. The wonder of Jesus is that a relationship with Him compensates for any lack a person could ever have. 

Jesus is called Counselor. A lifelong conversation with Jesus is a prayerful life. He is present, vigilant and available for consult each moment of our day or night. Because He is so aware of every detail of our situation, and so very familiar with us as unique individuals, He is able to provide specific, tailored advice. He powerfully, subtly, leads us toward the answer we need. To welcome the presence and counsel of Jesus into your your heart, your life and your situation is to be given the objective perspective and divine-strength necessary to proceed with purposeful wisdom.

Jesus is called Mighty God. Our Messiah is a multifaceted entity... praise God. Praise God because while Jesus is gentle and kind and wonderful, He is also a powerful authority. We require a powerful authority to confront the tenacious corruption of our enemies. We need a God who is gentle and fierce. We need a good Who is as wonderful to us as He is frightening to our adversaries. 

Jesus is called Everlasting Father. We need a God who is a father. We need Him to love us and discipline us. We need Him to raise us well and also rest us thoroughly. We need a God who is a shelter, a haven, a home. And we need Him forever. In God and Jesus we have steadfast presence and loyalty, such that we could never receive from any other source.

Jesus is called Prince of Peace. In the tumult of a world of people and a body of emotions we sometimes cannot understand or endure, we have the peace of Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus provides the hope and remembrance we need when we forget that difficulty and darkness are temporary. Jesus' peace soothes us as we remember God's plan, which Jesus brought to us, in order to assure us that there is purpose and order and justice in life. The greatest peace is knowing that God is in control and has a righteous, compassionate, restorative plan that is in the works this very moment!

• AN ANGEL ARRIVED

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. For with God nothing will be impossible.” 

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:30-35;37-38

God's sense of humor cannot be denied; it is especially noticeable when He reveals an aspect of His plan to one of His children. He is always able to baffle and astound because His plans consistently exceed our limitations. Jesus' birth is our reminder that God has grand plans within our own lives that are not subject to any rules, norms or possibilities.

Mary is our reminder to always consent when God offers to run the course of our life in accordance with His word. For God certainly chooses us for tasks we would, not unreasonably, deem too lofty for our own capabilities. And they would be too big for us without Him. It is only through firm, focused faith that we able to keep our lives on the course of God's will.

The birth of Jesus through Mary, of the Holy Spirit, is extraordinary especially in that it is the melding of the natural world as we know it with the super-natural, spiritual world Jesus has taught. In no other moment had humanity been so-joined with God than in the birth of Jesus. Our former brothers-and-sisters-in-faith did not have Jesus as we have Him now. The Holy Spirit had not yet permeated the hearts of any who called upon it. We have continuous, persistent, intimate connection with God. It was such unprecedented and joyous a moment that a multitude of angels and the glory of the Lord were present (Luke 2:9;13).

Together they celebrated the gift we now have today, this precise moment and its immediate and even everlasting future.

• BLESSED ARE THEY

Baby Jesus grew up and with His ministry redesigned the whole philosophy of the earth. In various ways, He taught the opposite of what the system of the world had been teaching, introducing such concepts as humility and mercy and servitude.

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.  

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:1-10

Jesus taught the shocking message that it was actually the weak who were strong, the lowly who were exalted and the hungry who were fed. Jesus taught the concept of "we reap what we sow" and suddenly it was wise to invest and participate in the well-being of others. He shifted humanity's perspective in a manner which would enable the little and lowly of the world to be seen and valued, and cared for. 

Jesus taught us that if our primary pursuit was the kingdom of God, there would be progressive purpose in everything that we do and more than sufficient provision to do it, (most specifically noted in Matthew 6:33). Jesus' message rendered the former way obsolete and even regressive. It could no longer be thought that it was prudent to disregard the meek and needy. Self-promotion and progression by any means necessary in order to be wealthy and recognized as prominent, no longer held logic since Jesus taught that God's eyes were on those who gave more than they had and held no esteemed position in society. 

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-15

Moreover, Jesus gave us purpose when He revealed to us to our influence. Jesus gave us value when He revealed that God trusted us to make an impact here with our words and behavior. We may have once believed ourselves to be too minuscule to matter, our lives too happenstance for purpose, but because of Jesus we cannot think that anymore; we have been taught otherwise.

• SON OF THE FATHER

Jesus taught us a valuable lesson in His temporary death and the events that led up to it: his message was contrary to the world and therefore was rejected by it (John 15:19). Changing our lifestyle in accordance with God's will would definitely make us popular with God, and would just as definitely make us peculiar to the world (and thus unpopular in it). 

There was an opportunity for Jesus to be released from prison before the crucifixion, but He was not released, because had a message for us.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 

Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”

And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Matthew 27:15-16;20-26

Jesus, though innocent, took the place of the guilty man... and continues to do so each and every time someone professes themselves to God. He lived and died and resurrected in order that we would receive the message that gives eternal life. We are not condemned to death because He has earned our eligibility redemption.

Jesus is referred to as 'Son of God' and the guilty man's name, Barabbas, means son of the father. We are all children of God, but who do we recognize as our father? Jesus revealed that we have a good Father in Heaven, the Father of righteousness. Barabbas had chosen to be a child, a product of unrighteousness. Jesus preferred a Father, a family and even the repentant sinners were welcomed into it; it was in Jesus' heart even to forgive the ignorant (Luke 23:34).

Jesus' life and death and resurrection provided us with a choice: will we accept our place as a child of God?

• PEACE I GIVE TO YOU 

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:15-18

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’

John 14:25-28

We celebrate Jesus' birth because since before even the moment of conception, He has been our advocate. Jesus is spiritually present, but because of His physical absence, He knew that we would need support. In the Holy Spirit, we have it. We have Him. We have an intangible, inexplicably, but undeniable, comfort, provision and power that sustains and propels us. 

All we have to do to receive it is to welcome Him into ourselves, our lives, our thoughts, choices and actions. And why wouldn't we? Jesus offers the sweetest peace and promise. 

 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

John 14:12-14

Within the will of God is an extraordinary place to be because possibility is endless. Within His ancient and established, everlasting kingdom are new glories, fresh inspirations, unprecedented occurrences. The Prince of Peace connected us to the God of vitality and proliferation. Our creator is a masterful artist and architect who gives attention to the details of the details of life. If you are able to dream of and pray for anything which enhances your little portion the Kingdom, God is able to do it. Trust Him to do it and deliver it in the time and material and way that He decides is best. Let God's will enhance your dream.

Finally, if you need a reminder of how to serve God this season, listen to Jesus' parting advice. It's simple.

...“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 14:23

And if the boisterous demands of the season are draining your peace, distracting you from the purpose of the season, and causing you to feel feebly alone, remember that you have never been alone.

"I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20

NOT SO FAST

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?'

Isaiah 58:3

Fasting is a fairly popular practice among Christians. It is a religious observance during which one abstains from food or drink, and more recently, things or habits. While fasting can be a helpful or even restorative practice for oneself, the practice of a fast is done quite differently when it is for God.

When a person fasts, the removal of a certain thing allows a space in which a person can focus on God or an aspect of personal character that requires improvement. The meaningfulness of the fast is dependent on fulfillment of the vow made to God; but still, this type of fast is not for God. God described the type of fast that is acceptable to Him in Isaiah 58.

When a personal fast is undertaken with wholehearted and genuine intention, it does not displease God. Character growth is important and somethings things need to be resisted in order to re-align ourselves with the word of God. However, God does not appreciate public, superficial fasting. It was such a fast that caused Him to speak out and describe to us exactly what He expects from a fast we expect to receive His attention from.

• THE CONDITION OF FASTING

It must be understood that God requires any fast to be a private practice of which only oneself and God is aware. If it is done for attention or any other selfish motivation, it will not be acknowledged by God. Jesus explained in Matthew 7:21-23 that there are many people who think they are known by God, because they go through the motions of religious practices, but actually are not:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

This is because some people turn religion into a business or a series of superficial rituals. What they do they do to gain money, followers, attention or power. Even if they truly believe in God, their selfish motivation negates the purpose of their plan. How then do we fast with unselfish motivation? Jesus explained in Matthew 6:16-18:

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Do not be a hypocrite. A person who begins a fast meant to be acceptable to God, they cannot be a hypocrite. That means that if they identify themselves as children of God, they must observe and follow the commandments of Him. A hypocrite announces their fast and informs everyone of their progress throughout it. They seek attention and sympathy; they want people to know that they are resisting something so that they will receive praise from their peers. Unfortunately for them, God has decided that those who seek and receive the praise of men will not receive the praise of God. In their heart, they wanted the attention of humans not God and so they received their reward.

But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: ...

Instead, Jesus taught us to fast privately. He instructed children of God to fast so privately that they even put effort into keeping it private. By keeping a fast private, one announces to God that their fast is for Him exclusively. They do not want or need or value the attention of people, their striving is done because they want, need and value the attention of God. They have chosen to resist something in order to prove their strength of faith, their dependence on God, and their willingness to remove anything from their lives but God.

... and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Ironically, a private fast results in a public reward. Much better than the attention or praise of people, divine rewards from God are permanent, extraordinary, meaningful, purposeful, heartfelt.

• "IS IT A FAST THAT I HAVE CHOSEN?"

The truth is that God does not chose for His children to deprive themselves of food or water. If such a fast helps a person with their faith or mindset, well and good, Jesus explained how to undertake such a fast in a godly manner. But God always teaches His children to look outward, beyond ourselves. If one is going to fast something, God prefers that it be their personal pursuits. 

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Isaiah 58:6-7

As it turns out... God requires quite a bit of effort from His children in the process of their fast.  He requires vigilant observation, active compassion, and unselfish dedication. God wants His children to be trained in the art of recognizing injustice and dismantling its grip on His children. He wants His children to assist people who are overburdened in life, pushed beyond their limits, inadequately equipped to handle their situation. He wants His children to confront oppressors and subsequently free their captives. God wants His children to break the bond between not just a person and their oppressor but a person and their addiction or depression. 

God wants His children to feed the people who are hungry. There are many hungers: hunger for food, hunger for the word of God, hunger for friendship, hunger for compassion, hunger for opportunity, knowledge, peace, hunger for a reason to have hope. As a child of God, equipped with the Word of God, one is prepared to fill each of these types of hunger. 

God wants His children to befriend the lonely, the ostracized, the meek. Like Jesus did, He wants His children to seek out not the people they can benefit from, but the people they can be a benefit to. Not as martyrs or angels or saints but as servants of the Lord, sharing the blessings they have that came from Him. God wants His children to bring their house to the uncovered. Include people, invite people, host people in your heart in your prayers, plans and intentions.

If one notices someone who is naked, bared to vulnerability and loneliness and the cruelty of the world, cover them. Arm them with the strength and love of God, first through acknowledgement, then through assistance, friendship and finally faith. God instructs humanity not to hide themselves from their own flesh, to be present and involved in lives and well-being of the people around.

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,

The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

If you extend your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,

And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

Isaiah 58:9b;10

At the very least, do not contribute to the problem. Do not observe but neglect. Fast the habit of mocking, gossip and slander and cruelty. Do not extend a finger to laugh at someone, extend the soul to satisfy an afflicted one. When one does so, their fast is then appreciated by God.

• A WATERED GARDEN

Quite the opposite of "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23), when God dismissed the culprit of the false fast, God warmly acknowledges the participant of the true fast.

Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,

And your righteousness shall go before you;

The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

Isaiah 58:8;9a

God makes Himself present and available to His children who call on Him from a place of righteousness. When they call on Him, He will answer. God is receptive to the prayers of the righteous and He is diligent to fulfill them: His divine response is an open reward. Access to the storehouses of God's blessings is the open reward of the private, philanthropic fast. The fast, undertaken in privacy, yields blessings so enormous and great that they're visible to everyone around. 

God's attention and compassion and presence and assistance and comfort and guidance and friendship and love and strength in every moment and detail of life is the reward of the righteous. The implementation of God's will, which always works all things together for the good, is the reward of the life of the righteous. 

The Lord will guide you continually,

And satisfy your soul in drought,

And strengthen your bones;

You shall be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Those from among you

Shall build the old waste places;

You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,

The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In."

Isaiah 58:11-12

God never forgets that while His child is out there helping others, they are in need of help themselves. Therefore He becomes their help. When conditions and situations cause them to become as weary and desolate as a desert, He waters them. He tends to them so comprehensively that they are liked a watered garden: blooming, thriving, producing. He is the reinforcement of strength on their bones; the motivation to rise and seek and assist. He restores His child, pours a firm foundation, and builds a safe and strong place for them to dwell.

• SUPERFICIAL FAITH

 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,

From doing your pleasure on My holy day,

And call the Sabbath a delight,

The holy day of the Lord honorable,

And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,

Nor finding your own pleasure,

Nor speaking your own words,

Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;

And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,

And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.

The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 58:13-14 

God wants His children to discard that superficial faith. He does not want them to go through the motions of traditions men have established. Public fasting and abstinence of foods do not make the impact the world desperately needs. Selfish motivations and practices are not acknowledged as evidence of faith. 

It is not one's own way, own pleasure, or own words which capture the attention and appreciation of God. God is honored when behavior is consistent and aligned with His will. And when one's behavior is consistently aligned with God's word and will, one is acknowledged and blessed extraordinarily by Him.

HERE AM I

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:2;3

The kingdom of Judah was failing; it was weak and its people were corrupt. It had once been a strong and righteous place, established, reinforced and blessed by God Himself. It had been a kingdom build by divine intervention for the children of God; that is: the twelve tribes which had committed themselves to Him. They followed God and He led them directly into blessing.

Then they began to falter in their commitment to God. They began to neglect their relationship with Him and consequently reject His commandments, choosing instead the lifestyle of the corrupt nations around them. They were immoral and cruel, stubborn and arrogant. Steadily their values changed and descended until they were unrecognizable to the people they once were. 

But God still recognized them; He still claimed them as His own. He still accepted responsibility of them. Knowing that the people had blocked out His voice, God decided to try to reach them through another's: Isaiah. 

• CALLED

God assists us and teaches because He loves us, but His love for us extends beyond self-improvement and well-being. He has also assigned purpose and influence to us and our lives, respectively. In order to receive that purpose, we have to approach God... and the presence of God is a wonderful but peculiar place to be.

For to be in the presence of God is to be juxtaposed perfection. Before God we are completely bared and prevented from being anything but utterly honest. In the presence of perfection, our imperfections are excruciatingly apparent. Such was the case for Isaiah, who when called to stand before God, cried out in a blaze of humility his own unworthiness:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King,

The Lord of hosts.”

Isaiah 6:5 

The experience is excruciatingly humbling to us, but we are not called to stand before God in shame. We are called to stand before God to have that shame removed. And that is exactly what God did for Isaiah. The grace of God permeated through Isaiah's humility and qualified him to be a prophet, an agent and messenger of God.

We stand before God somewhat less visually fantastically than Isaiah did, (I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”) but the experience is the same. 

Just as God restored Isaiah, so is His grace willing to restore us. Daily (and ultimately lifetime) commitment to God qualifies us for the purpose He has called us to. Every day God provides lessons that strengthen us and equip us with the implements we need to be righteously proactive and patiently compassionate. We must be receptive to the voice of God because He will call to purpose, and then He will ask: "whom shall I send?"

• WHOM SHALL I SEND?

... Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'

Matthew 9:35-36

Think of that moment in a dramatic, action-packed war movie when the protagonist is elbow-deep in chaos. Suddenly everything is in slow motion and soundless as the protagonist surveys their surroundings and realizes precisely how inadequate their forces compared to what needs to be done. Jesus experienced that moment. He was tirelessly teaching, preaching and healing day after day after day, an agent of God working without any fellow-workers. He looked up and saw multitudes of people who needed and there were simply not enough people working to fill their needs. 

Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'

Matthew 9:37-38

We naturally wonder ourselves "whom will God send?" We wonder when we read that scripture and we wonder in our own lives today. We witness injustice and disparity and we want to know who God will send to combat it? Well, returning to the book of Isaiah, God asked the same question: "Whom shall I send?" And the answer is: the person who elects to go. 

Isaiah did: "Here am I! Send me." Elect to be the person sent forth by God. God will reveal His purpose to each individual who asks and their potential portion within it. Once received, one must then accept it. When one experiences what Jesus experienced, that there is need in the world that needs to be, but is not, filled, once must elect to be sent into the field.

• WALK WORTHY OF THE CALLING 

Isaiah elected to go forth into Judah with a bold and ominous warning from God for them. But Isaiah was not sent to judge them or punish them. It was not even God's intention that Isaiah should threaten or frighten them. Isaiah was sent to inform them. Isaiah's job was the re-introduce principles of righteousness and to remind of the subsequent consequences of unrighteousness.

They had neglected and then forgotten the laws and commandments of God. "Laws and commandments" seem heavy and fearsome but ultimately it means that they forgot the importance of living righteously. The forgot how to be kind and wise and fair. They forgot the value of honesty and patience and mercy and loyalty.

So much of our purpose here is to embody the Word of God, to emulate Jesus as best as we can. After all, the influence of what one does contributes more to the fulfillment of their purpose than much of what one could say. Words of the apostle Paul reiterate this point: 

I, therefore,...beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1-3 

Isaiah was equipped with the word of God, and so must any sent one be. Because of his knowledge and familiarity with God's principles, he was readily able to discern between righteous and unrighteous behavior. He was able to speak truth and therefore contend with injustice, properly forewarn iniquitous behavior, and separate his own behavior from from it. We cannot be effective or anointed agents of God without those skills (but if we are with Him, we have them). 

But in order for Isaiah's words to have any traction or impact or credibility at all he needed to walk worthy of the calling to which he was called. In other words, he needed to practice what he preached. He needed to live and thus exemplify the lifestyle and doctrine he brought to the people of Judah. To be a leader or speaker within or for the Kingdom of God is foremost to serve as a participant of it. 

In order to walk worthy, one must learn to think worthy:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 

The efficacy and fulfillment of our purpose is wholly dependent on our self-disciplined ability to remain steadfastly committed to the alignment of our body, mind, and soul with God's word and will. Our relationship with God and every lesson from Him retrains our brain (and subsequently our behavior) to produce righteousness from precisely before even the inception of any thought, word or action. 

Paul continued the above verse with this:  

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:9 

 Whom will God send? The one who elects to go. To do what? To put into practice the Word of God.

God did not call Isaiah or even Jesus to speak caustically or judgmentally. The basis of everything God does is not to frighten but to soothe, not to punish but to correct, not to harm but to heal. Caustic, hateful, judgmental speech is frightening and serves only as a barrier between a person and their potential relationship with God (or restoration to him). Hypocritical speech does even worse damage, even if it is not outwardly caustic or judgmental in nature.

God sent them to be informed examples of the Word of God. The intention is not to lambaste (though in cases of extreme evil and injustice it cannot all times be avoided) but to teach. God did not send Isaiah to doom them but to rescue them. God did not send Isaiah to shame them but to re-introduce to them to opportunity of redemption. God did not send Isaiah to vex or scare or flaunt or condemn... He sent Isaiah to re-gather His children. He sent Isaiah to remind them of the lifestyle that would heal and bless them. He sent Isaiah to, essentially, put up road signs so that the people would stop getting lost or harmed on meandering, unsafe, paths.

When God asks whom? Answer: Here Am I. When God calls, answer: Send Me. Once sent forth, endeavor to embody the word of God and surely, nearly inadvertently, your purpose will be fulfilled. 

FITTING OUT THE SHIP

"Fitting out" a ship means putting in everything a ship needs, both to carry passengers and to power the vessel." Stephanie Sabol  

The phrase "fitting out the ship" has a spiritual application. All of the work God does for and within you, is meant to provide you with everything you need, both to carry others and to power you, a vessel for the Holy Spirit. For waters of the world are turbulent, and only a skilled navigator and fitted ship can chart them.

The process through which God prepares, stocks, and powers you is less affectionately known as discipline. Discipline is something we naturally resist. Discipline forces us to bend against our will, decide against our preferences, and push beyond our limits. During its process, discipline feels more like punishment than benefit. Yet discipline, strenuous and unpleasant though it is, is a process for which we should be grateful; Hebrews 12:5-6; Proverbs 3:11-12 explain:

"... do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every child whom he receives."

If we are to be "fitted out" or, disciplined, by God, we should understand how, why and the way to endure (perhaps even appreciate) the process. 

THE SHIP

Every person is a vessel; mind and limbs and entire body work to exert an individual's will in the world. The same is true for a child of God, but there is an emphatic tweak: our mind and limbs and entire body work to exert God's will in the world. We abandon our own, or at least, we try to as, throughout our lives, we submit further to His will. We do so because we trust His above our own. We trust His foresight, we have confidence in His power, and we believe in His purposes over anyone else's. 

But if we are truly going to be vessels of the Holy spirit, ships navigating the waters of the world according to His purposes, we need to be built spiritually robust. Just as it would be unpleasant to be hammered, carved and sanded, so can it be unpleasant to be lectured, thwarted, or made to fail.

If God did not love us, He would leave us to our own devices. The end of humanity would be a quick and cruel process done to itself. But He does love us, very much, and if He is to yield the "peaceful fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 11:11)" within us we have to be disciplined. You will recognize discipline by this taste: humble pie. You will recognize discipline by this emotion: shame. You will recognize discipline by this outcome: failure.

None of us like to relive the moments when we were humbled, ashamed, or defeated. But God exploits those moments. He makes full use of them, using our pain and frustration as a site to be surveyed, analyzed, dug into. In such emotionally intense, raw states it is easiest to see the connections between cause and effect, action and reaction and most of all: the futility of living for selfish purposes. 

Once we learn how the wrong motivations lead to the wrong decisions and how the wrong decisions lead to the wrong outcomes, it is easier to release our selfish purposes. And sometimes, when we actually do receive the outcome we thought we wanted, we realize it is not what we should have wanted at all. We realize that it does not provide the joy or even contentedness we thought it would. When that happens, it's easier to grab onto the truth that "your Father knows what you need" (Matthew 6:8)" and that maybe you really don't.

That release (of selfish purposes) and that grab (onto truth) are crucial to the ships form, to your form. They are the difference between sinking and staying afloat. 

THE WATERS

In scripture, tribulation is often symbolized by water:

• Psalm 69:1-2 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
• Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
• Lamentations 3:54 the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to perish.
• Psalm 18:16-17 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

Your relationship with God, your willingness to submit to His discipline, prepares you for the plight of those deep and turbulent waters. If we are to be vessels of the Holy spirit, it simply will not due for us to give up, give in, get angry, or go astray. But without practice, we will give up. Without the process of building strength, you will give in. Without being singed by the flames of anger, we will burn from anger. Without the proper mooring to the philosophy of God, we will go astray.

We have to experience those things in order to extract their essential oils, the elements of them that make us strong and wise in faith, selfless in body and soul. But it requires discipline to utilize those moments; because when you are broken or ashamed, you are reluctant to submit yourself to constructive criticism or to consider consequence a valuable lesson. Because although water gives us life, we are not exactly cognizant or grateful for that as it rushes toward us or threatens to rise above our heads.

You are a ship because you are in the waters; and if you are a ship in the waters, you need to be fitted out. Otherwise, your tribulation will sink you. In character. In spirit. In life. No matter who you are, more than once in your life a wave will go over your head and send you crashing down. That moment will either be an end or a beginning: your demise, or your first day of training.

THE CARGO

It is through our trials that we become stocked with the cargo we need in order to be properly fitted out. Through trials, God provides opportunity to build spiritual muscle, the true strength that is: patience and endurance, courage, character and hope. The most important cargo a ship could carry; the products that persevere us through the waters.

Trials: some are different, many are the same, though caused by different circumstances for each individual. Our trials are the things we have to either cope with or surrender to, the happen within us: our insecurities, our losses, loneliness, sadness and fear. Our temper our greed, our temptation, pride and anxiety. But the weariness, the fainthearted-ness they birth within us, are conquerable.

The loneliness and loss teach us to value people not things, to nourish them and host them well when they come; to build attentive and empathetic relationships. The fear gives us opportunity to learn what we care about enough to choose courage. The sadness encourages us to explore for reprieve from sorrow. The anxiety causes us to inquire of peace and its attainability. The temptation teaches us that we are leashed until we deny it enough to set ourselves free. The insecurity causes us to question the context of our culture and to make corrections. All of those things could snuff us out, but instead let them light a fire. Disciplining ourselves to re-purpose our trial's power in our lives helps us to build the cargo we need to survive any storm that brews in the waters. 

We conquer those sea beasts by remembering that as a child of God, there is hope. There is breakthrough. There is purpose. We conquer our trials by remembering that endings are beginnings, if we pray them to be. And that is the most precious cargo of all: faith. 

We are ships in the sea, in the world, but in heaven we are God's cargo and He protects us with His life. He prepares us with every skill and piece of wisdom He has. We are made able navigate the choppy waters because we have been supplied with the necessary elements to do so.

Romans 3:3-4 tells us to "glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." Paul told us to, as children of God, notice a storm brewing on the sea and glory in it. He told us to strengthen our legs, lift up our hands, and to walk straightforward. He wanted us to realize that the love and strength of God within us is more than enough to see a storm and strengthen, as spiritual discipline taught us to do. To be ready, to be brave. Every storm is a chance to be charted; and as a fitted out ship, you can chart it. Trust the process of discipline because each stage produces a new product, a more refined you.

Someone else might see a storm on the horizon and fall. Someone else might find themselves in the midst of a storm and fail. But as a child of God, see a storm and resolve to fight. You've been fitted for the fight.

FOR COMFORT

In life, fear will work to invade atmospheres of peace. Anticipate its attempted intrusion and let it at the door meet full force conviction. The following are a selection of verses in scripture that help us to do just that: to dismantle fear's power and dissipate fear's presence with the conviction that our God is stronger, wiser, and more able than any foreboding thing, person or situation. 

While each of the following help us to restore peace, their greatest impact is made when they are deeply founded in faith. The more time we spend deep in scripture, in prayer and communication with God, the more powerfully we are able to dispel fear. The more faith we give God to work with, the more readily and systematically do we disassemble the machination of fear. 

If read chronologically, the Bible is essentially a tracking of mess to order. Through the lives of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and so many others, we can see God working arduously, skillfully within details to ensure a specific outcome. Revelation 21, all things made new; no fear, no tear, no death, no sorrow, no pain. Scripture is an example of how our God is able to work all things for good despite close and persistent threat. From an eternal perspective, lifelong perspective and day-to-day perspective God rescues us and solves our problems. Fight the panic and hopelessness of fear with the love letter God wrote specifically for you. 

• Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God understands that our responsibilities accumulate here; there is so much we have to do and be to have a full life. In response to that, He teaches us to swap the burden of those responsibilities for this one opportunity: seek God. The sixth chapter of Matthew encourages us to pursue our relationship with God, for while we do, He will take care of everything else. 

God is able to wield and forge and arrange the details of our lives to culminate in the growth and betterment of our life and character. The more pieces we put into His hands with faith in His skill, the more comprehensively He is able to sculpt our lives.

• 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Fear will fight faith: can God handle it? Will God handle it? And if so, how? Fear is concerned about the journey but faith is secure in God's path. Faith is stalwart in the belief that He can and He will so efficiently that the how is irrelevant. God calls us to seek Him with our whole heart and whole soul; He understands that if we do give our entire attention to Him, we will need Him to take care of what is  unseen in our periphery and ahead in our path. 

• Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Quite simply, we do not need to fear because when we vocalize our distress, He rescues. In the Old Testament, Jehoshaphat is seconds and dozen spears away from death but because he used his last seconds to call to God, he was saved. The situation was literal for Jehoshaphat (see 2 Chronicles 17), but for us it is often metaphorical. Fear is oppresses, stifles, and pervades but use those last seconds before it closes in completely to call to God. It has been declared that He will answer and that He will save. 

• Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Find a haven in the fact that God has purpose for you, purpose He established in advance. He is intentional with your life when you allow Him to position His will within it. God has plans for you to do good work, not to sink or fail. Would God prepare failure or destitution for you in advance? No, that would not require planning. If that were His plan, He never would have even introduced Himself to us. He would have just let us flail about. Remember that God has made plans to craft your life for good. 

• Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

God is really talented. He is the original abstract-artist. He compiles unlikely materials and welds them into a masterpiece. From our perspective, our life might look like a pile of unusable, non-valuable junk. But from God's perspective, our life is a challenge He has already artistically mastered; to Him, our life is a pile of materials that only He can see the connections in. In desperate situations, when the outcome looks bleak, trust that God's artistry is more advanced than our limited view. 

• Matthew 6:8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Speaking of our limited view, Jesus stated frankly that God knows what we need better than we do, before we do. It's like driving only to suddenly find that the bridge is closed! We panic for an alternate route! But God knew that bridge was closed before we even buckled our seat-belt and planned accordingly, which is why it is so imperative that we have submitted ourselves to His plan! 

Jesus did not want us to be like the rest of the panicked world because as children of God, we have already been provided for. God has planned our course and therefore He has already accounted for it's turns and divots and barriers. Before we realize them and before we ask for help through them, He already has a plan through them. He will lead you forward, usually incrementally, at a pace that requires faith. He will deliver you directly into the provision you require. 

God knows what we need; He is an informed and attentive Father. He is fully prepared to fill our biological, emotional, and spiritual needs. He is fully prepared to compensate for our inadequacy, and supplement our deficiency, in friendship, relationship, profession and whatever else. If with live our lives with righteous intent, God will provide.

• Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

God knows what we need... and better than we do. Moreover, He emphatically pursues and creates and intercedes to ensure that we get it! God's wisdom is able to discern between what we think we want and what we actually need. In moments of fear, trust that God is interceding on your behalf. He knows what prayer will rescue you from your fear and utters it on your behalf. He speaks your rescue into the universe and into existence. 

We might think a certain circumstance would rescue us from a fearsome outcome; it would cause us to pray for the wrong thing. How blessed is it for us that God bats those nonconstructive thoughts away and replaces them with constructive action?

• Isaiah 43:1-3

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine. 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you. 

For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

We have been claimed by God. God will take care of what belongs to Him; He has promised to accompany us through our journey, its difficulty and its joy. He has declared Himself our savior. He chose the word savior because of our tendency to need saving! 

Sometimes humans adopt animals without understanding (or committing to) the responsibility of pet ownership. But God knew what the adoption of humanity would require and He committed to it. We are an accident-prone bunch. We need constant saving and so God became our savior. We have been adopted by God, He is going to take care of His family. 

But, Father cannot help us if we have run away from home. In time of fear (and also joy) return home to be provided for, to be saved.

• Jeremiah 29:11-12 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

God's intentions for our lives are pure. He designs a future we can look forward to. He takes our prayer into account; His blessings are tailored specifically to who we are as individuals. 

• Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

God delights in witnessing our joy. He delights in providing our joy. The life He plans for us is filled with people and circumstances that were planned by Him to make us feel safe and happy. In this verse, God affectionately soothes our fear. Take a deep breathe of hope and love, little flock, it gives your Father joy to shower you and protect you with the power and provision of His kingdom. 

The term of endearment is not random: God is our shepherd. We are His little flock of sheep. We are inherently naive and vulnerable (as well as beautiful and kind) and He loves us for our delicacy. He protects it at all costs. 

• Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

We can only truly bask in the promise of God's provision and protection if we feel eligible for it. Good news! Jesus told us how precious we are to God, how precisely we are loved. We are valuable to Him, worth the effort we require. He knows every minute and intricate detail about us not because He has to but because we wants to. 

God loves all of His creations, for example: the tiny sparrows in the trees. God has designed a planet to sustain them, too, has He not? The environment He created supports their provision and protection. God wants us to know that if He did it for the sparrows, He will certainly do it for us. 

• Psalm 116:1-11

I love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

The pains of death surrounded me,
And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
I said in my haste, “All men are liars.”

Take courage from this psalmists relationship with God. From a hopeless situation, God restored. A desperate cry, God heard and answered. From trouble and sorrow God saved. From the lowest point, God raised. The psalmist had no one in the world to trust but had God and He was more than enough. 

God dealt bountifully with the psalmist's soul. God does not flippantly toss scraps. He blesses abundantly, intentionally. He rescues triumphantly. He loves emphatically. With conviction dismiss fear and allow yourself to be embraced by the perfect love of God.

• 2 Chronicles 20:12 For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Jehoshaphat was surrounded. Out-manned. Over powered. Out-witted. In that moment of complete fear, he fixed his eyes on God. Though the moment sounds panicked, Jehoshaphat solemnly relied solely on his faith. When we lose our chance, our weapon, our hope and even the will to fight, we must finally fix our eyes on God. 

Sometimes it is only when we realize and accept our inability that we see the benefit of trusting God. God's strength and ability begins working for us the exact moment it is activated by our faith. Jehoshaphat knew that from God's perspective a way could be made. Surrender, never to your enemies but always to God. Put your weapons down and allow Him to become your defense. 

• 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

God wants us to feel secure in His qualifications for our rescue and defense:

His omnipresence is vigilant, fastidious and alert.

• Nothing escapes His notice. His children are so valuable to Him that is present everywhere to support them.

His omnipotence is powerful, unmatched and undeterred.

• No force is able to contend with Him; He wins with ease. 

His omniscience is complete.

• He owns all wisdom, all knowledge, all reason, all logic, all science, all sides, all forms; whatever it is, He has both created and mastered it.

God wants us to have conviction in His ability to render the fear in our life mute, powerless and irrelevant.

• Luke 11:11-13 "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

When we adopt the Christian lifestyle, we are adopted by God. We were always His creation, but we become reclaimed. As claimed children, we have ownership within our Father's kingdom. We become possessors of His love and kindness, God's mercy and protection. We can expect our lives to unfold in accordance with His will. And God's will for us is good.

Jesus more than gave us permission to ask, Jesus encouraged us to ask God for our myriad of needs. He told us that we would receive. From Jesus we learned that we cannot expect that God will hear and respond with action and deliverance. For God's children know what to ask for; we ask for God. We ask for His will over our life. We ask for the peace and protection and provision He has promised. And Jesus assured us that God is fully aware of a good gift.

God has offered peace and protection and provision because He knows that ultimately, every need we have is stemmed from a need for those three things. When we ask God for those things, why would we ever expect or fear that He would answer with their opposites?

LOCUSTS + WILD HONEY

Of John the Baptist in the book of Isaiah:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God."

Out from the wilderness came a humble man with a bold message and a roaring voice. It was a message for dwellers of the darkness, and for the inert in the light. A new way of life, the philosophy of Jesus, barreled toward humanity, to pierce it like the sun's rays do the earth. It was John's duty to prepare them. John the Baptist was faith in action; he prepared the people to become righteous vessels of the Holy Spirit, and obedient instruments for the hands of God. He prepared them for reversal, for submersion and for reconstruction. 

In his mother's womb, John leaped in the presence of Jesus in Mary's; he was predestined and ready to fulfill his purpose, to scoop and carve and clear the way for the ministry of Jesus and presence of God. If it was necessary then, to clear a place and construct a foundation, a basis of faith within one's life, it is necessary now.

Prophecy of the life of John the Baptist foretold several things: he would be a prophet of God, he would prepare the way for the ministry of Jesus, he would inform the people of salvation obtained by the remission of sins, give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide feet into the way of peace.

DWELLERS OF DARKNESS

In order to prepare for God and the word of God to preside in our lives, we must identify ourselves as either a dweller or darkness or one who is inert in the light. A dweller of darkness is one who lives separate, perhaps even in opposition to the word of God. Few of us would identify ourselves as such. But if the word of God has not made a life-altering impact on our way of life, a reversal of how we see and behave in the world, we are a dweller of darkness. A dweller of darkness has not yet been appointed by the light for a purpose of the light. 

John called the people to repentance, and thus to soul-deep revolution. The presence of God on the earth amid humanity meant recovery from the darkness, salvation from the sin. Every person John dipped into the Jordan confessed their sin; but it is important to understand the intimate process of confession of sin. We confess our imperfection, our mistakes and failures, and our uglier tendencies to God. By confessing them, we acknowledge them. One-on-one with God, we realize and claim and thus decide the areas where we most need His grace and mercy; discipline and instruction. Repentance is the first step not to condemnation but to reconstruction. We must realize all the places of darkness within us that are stemming the light.

In order to leave the darkness, we must leave impatience and greed beyond. Self-interest cannot come with us. Anger and anxiety must be dissolved by forgiveness and trust in God. It is a process, a journey out of the dark, but as long as we are not inert in the darkness, we are active in the light. We move into the light when we leave darkness behind. Our new focus, in every situation, relationship, or mood we find ourselves in must be on:

"whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8)."

For light, the fruit of the spirit  is:

"is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)."

SHADOW OF DEATH

Alternately, John was also sent to those who dwell in the shadow of death. That is: all of us. We all live in the shadows cast by disparity and injustice. We are all hosted by temporary bodies; we all love and befriend souls hosted by temporary bodies. John came to prepare us for a drastic change in our shadowed journey. Our walk through "the valley of the shadow of death", Psalm 23, takes on new characteristics: we are shepherded, led by the River of courage and comfort from which to draw.  

As we mold ourselves receptive to the ministry of Jesus, we adopt our eternal nature. Receptive to the ministry of Jesus, we become privy to God's purposes and plans. We become agents of God's purposes and plans. We realize that that which is wrong or cruel is not absolute. We begin to see, all over the world, construction zones. Project sites commissioned by the Holy Spirit, led and supported by advocates, fellow-workers of His peace.

The shadow of death therefore is a precursor to the light of eternity. John was sent to us to inform us that we are not stuck in death's shadow; this life is a beginning, not an end. John prepared them, and us, for Jesus to explain precisely how.

INERT IN THE LIGHT

It is not enough to bask in the light. From John, an itinerant preacher, we should learn that we are meant to move, to speak, to act. Submersion is in his title: John the Baptist; John the baptizer.  Submersion in the river Jordan was symbolic of submersion in faith. Our objectives shift, our purpose is established, our values are chosen by God, our wisdom is gleaned from Him. We are meant to use all of that. 

God provides the light, that is, the peace and comfort and hope and advocacy. He provides those things for a purpose... for our purpose. For our mission, our life's work in faith. What would we need advocacy for if we were inert? If we aren't breaking chains why do we need strength? If we aren't speaking out in defense of the meek, why do we need confidence? If we aren't going to love, why do we need comfort? If we aren't going to bear the burns of forgiveness and the bruises of compassion, why do we need healing?

We receive for a purpose. His advocacy is to advocate for us while we walk, while we speak, while we work.

 HOST OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 

For the Holy Spirit to arrive and reside in our life, we must foster within ourselves the climate in which It thrives. Only a righteous host can host Righteousness. This is why it was so essential for John Baptist to prepare the way. This is why it is so essential for us to prepare the way for God to arrive in our lives. We suffocate our faith when we foster a toxic atmosphere. 

We cannot allow impatience, anger, greed, temptation, or injustice to fester in the place where we expect God to be. We have to behave selflessly in moments we feel most inclined to be selfish. We must sacrifice and give when our desire flares. We must choose justice even when it does not equate with a status elevation of ourselves. In the day-to-day, the thought-to-thought, we have to create a habitable soul for the Holy Spirit to fill. 

The ministry of Jesus reached a region which had been prepared for it because this lifestyle is not one that can reside on, or reside with, another. It cannot be contradicted, it must be absolute. We cannot have one foot in the dark and one in the light; a house divided cannot stand. What we think, say and do will never be steadfastly perfect. But our intention to think, say, and do things worthy of, like God, must be! Our commitment to this lifestyle must be steadfast and absolute. Faith unfed will starve, and our faith's provision comes from what our minds, and voices and hands produce. Faith will not subsist on the wrong food.

John was appointed to guide feet to the path of peace. Within the ministry of God, we walk a new road: a path of peace. He cleared the brambles, he trod the path for us to follow. As we walk into the Kingdom, we delve into comprehensive peace. He taught us to prepare ourselves, to prepare our lives for change and reversal, for purpose and new direction. Because beside Jesus, fear is illogical, shame is removed, chaos is ordered, safety is ensured, provision is provided, defense is absolute. Beside Jesus, peace is established and upheld.

John was a simple man who came from the countryside; he lived as a minimalist, eating only locusts and wild honey. God prepared him for great, prophetic, action-packed purpose yet he remained a humble man. The symbolism is that he subsisted on the natural, incredible, honey that is God's word and he crushed his enemies with the movements of his life. Locusts are used in the Bible to symbolize the enemy, the sin that corrodes the world. Imitate John, live humbly by the light and act boldly against the dark.